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TEACHERS COLLEGE 274 TEAL Columbia University. There were in 1919 1,567 students in the educational department, and 1,551 in the practical arts department. The faculty numbered 226. The library contains about 60,000 volumes. TEACHERS' PENSIONS, the grant- ing of pensions to teachers after super- annuation by the state, municipality or by a combination of either of these two and a professional organization of the teachers themselves. Teachers may be divided into two classes: contributory and non-contributory. Contributory pen- sions are granted from a fund partly made up of donations or subscriptions, by the teachers and in part by the state or municipality. Non-contributory pensions are granted outright by the state or mu- nicipality. The latter system is practiced in Germany, while the former is prac- ticed in England and France. Germany and France also provide for the widows, orphans and other dependents of teach- ers as well. It was not till about 1895 that the duty of providing pensions for teachers was taken up in the United States. Previous to that pensions had been granted through the medium of mutual aid asso- ciations, all the funds being contributed by the teachers themselves. Since then state aid has been granted in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Ver- mont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Of these the non-contributory system is practiced only in Arizona, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Virginia. Of the contributory system that in Mass- achusetts is most typical. There the teachers are required to con- tribute from three to seven per cent, of their salaries toward the pension fund, to which the state adds an equal amount. Thirty years service, or a minimum age of sixty years entitles the recipient to re- tirement on a pension in proportion to his contributions. Of the municipalities in this country which have been foremost in providing retirement pensions are New York, Detroit, Mich., and St. Louis, Mo. In Brooklyn, N. Y., a contributory system was adopted by which only a cent a year was deducted from the salaries of the teachers. In 1905 the state legislatures amended the city charter which enabled both Brooklyn and New York to adopt a contributory system, which was at the time supposed to be the most advanced of its kind. In 1915 the pension fund was declared to be bankrupt, since which time a new system has been adopted TEAK, Tectotia grandis, one of the most valuable timbers knoviTi; the wood of a large deciduous tree (natural or- der Verbenacex) with leaves from 10 to 20 inches in length, and from 8 to 15 inches in breadth. The tree, which has small white flowers in panicles, is found in central and southern India, where however, it is now scarce in some locali- ties in which it was formerly plentiful. There are extensive forests of it in Burma and Siam, and it extends into Java and some neighboring islands. In India growing teak is placed under the management of a conservator of forests, and very little is now exported from that country. The wood is of a quiet yellow color, tending to brown, and like many other kinds of timber has a characteris- tic odor. It is classed as a hardwood, though it is only of medium hardness, taking, however, a good polish; and it is straight grained and strong. Teak does not shrink much in season- ing, and it is believed to expand and con- tract less by differences of temperature than most woods. A sticky elastic extract, to some ex- tent resembling india-rubber, is obtained from teak by treating the wood with naphtha or ether. It is probably this which prevents iron in contact with it from rusting; hence its use for backing the armor plates of warships. The pores of the wood are sometimes filled with a white substance, which has been ascertained to be phosphate of lime (calcium phosphate). There is a high percentage both of this substance and of silica in the ash of teak, and this no doubt explains why carpenters and other tradesmen consider it gritty. _ White ants rarely attack the wood if it is sound, but nevertheless logs of it are often badly worm-eaten. In India teak is used for all kinds of work where strength and durability are required, such as for building ships, houses and bridges, also for the construc- tion of railway carriages and furniture. In England it is largely employed in ship-building. The leave? of the tree yield a red dye. Being of large size they are used in India for p!ates and for thatching. African teak (Oldfieldia Africana) is imported from the W. coast of Africa; it is also a valuable timber, but less so than true teak. TEAL, a popular name for any in- dividual of the genus Querquedula. They are the smallest of the ducks, and widely distributed over the world, generally fre- quenting rivers and lakes, and feeding, principally at night, on aquatic insects, worms, small mollusks and vegetable mat-